History

One of the women in one of my groups recently asked what I was doing for history. It's a subject that I teach both boys at once even though they are 3 years apart in age. Basically we are doing both Western and American Civ.

American Civ.
For the most part we'll be using the book series - A Young People's History of the United States (Howard Zinn, the author of the book A People's History of the United States, my absolute favorite).
Some Supplements -
The Maya, Aztecs & Incas --
Mayans Aztecs and Incans Thematic Unit
Scholastic Mayas Aztecs Incas
The Ancient Maya (True Books)
 -- DJ's Readers -  The Corn Grows Ripe (Dorothy Rhoads) The Secret of the Andes (Ann Nolan Clark)
 -- Xman, my youngest, will focus more on the coloring book A Coloring Book of the Ancient Incas Aztecs and Mayas (Bellerophon Books)
Macchu Pichu: The Story of the Amazing Incas and Their City in the Clouds (Wonders of the World Books)

The Native Americans --
The Very First Americans (Cara Ashrose)
The Elders are Watching (David Bouchard)
Between the Earth and Sky (Joseph Bruchac)

Western Civilizations:
Our Western Civ is more to DJ's liking, as it's based around his absolute favorite book series - The Magic Tree House. At their website you can even find worksheets and 'stamps for their passport'.  Here's the order of the books we'll be reading:

1. Dinosaurs Before Dark (yup about the Dinosaurs)
2. Sunset of the Sabertooth
3. Mummies in the Morning (ancient Egypt)
4. Day of the Dragon King (ancient China)
5. Night of the Ninja's (ancient Japan)
6. Vacation Under the Volcano (on Pompeii)
7. Hour of the Olympics (Olympia, Greece & the 1st Olympics)
8. The Knight at Dawn (medieval England)
9. Viking Ships at Sunrise (about the ancient Vikings)

-- digression to Myths --

1. Carnival at Candlelight (Myth from Venice, Italy)
2. Summer of the Sea Serpent (Scottish Selkie's myth)
3. Christmas in Camelot (must I say more?)
4. Dragon of the Red Dawn (1600's Japanese myth)
5. Leprechaun in Late Winter (Irish myth)
6. Haunted Castle on All Hallows Eve (history of Halloween)

--End Digression -- Western Civ, Continued

1. Season of the Sandstorms (ancient Middle Eastern Bedouin Tribe)
2. Moonlight on the Magic Flute (18th century Europe)
3. Stage Fright on a Summer Night (Elizabethan England & William Shakespears)
4. Monday with a Mad Genius (Italian Renessance & Leonardo Da Vinci)
5. A Crazy Day with Cobras (India, ~1700's)
6. A Ghost Tale for Christmas (Victorian England & Charles Dickens)
7. Pirates Past Noon (the era of Pirates)
8. Night of the Magicians (Paris France, ~100 years ago)
9. Afternoon in the Amazon (South America)
10. Tonight on the Titanic
11. Lions at Lunch Time (Africa)
12. Tigers at Twilight (more on India)

Some will also coincide with our American Civ -

1. Thanksgiving on Thursday (the Pilgrims)
2. Revolutionary War on Wednesday
3. Buffalo Before Breakfast (Native Americans & The Great Plains)
4. Civil War on Sunday
5. Twisters onTuesday (Prairie, 1870's)
6. Ghost Town at Sundown (the American West 1880's)
7. Earthquake in the Early Morning (Great San Francisco earthquake)
8. Blizzard of the Blue Moon (the Great Depression)
9. A Good Night for Ghosts (New Orleans & Jazz music)
10. High Tide in Hawaii (Hawaii and Tsunami's)

Explorers/Animals -

• Eve of the Emperor Penguin (Antartica)
• Polar Bears Past Bedtime (the Artic)
• Midnight on the Moon
• Good Morning Gorillas (African Mountains)
• Dark Day in the Deep Sea (deep sea exploration)
• Doliphins at Daybreak (dolophins & sharks)